Dancing with the Stars pro Karen reveals first reaction when she saw RTE’s Des Cahill was one of the male celebs

But the straight-talking Dub wouldn't want to have shared the experience with anyone else

By Fiona Ellis

14th March 2017,3:33 pm

DES Cahill’s Dancing with the Stars partner has revealed when she saw Des as one of the male dancers, she thought ‘God, I don’t know about him now’ after they got the boot from the competition in week 10.

The sports broadcaster revealed he was left hurt by a comment he read from someone who felt sorry for Karen as she couldn’t show her full potential with him as a partner.

She said: “I didn’t know what to expect from the show. But to share it with someone like you.

“Of course when I saw all the males, Des would have been one that I’d say, ‘God, I wouldn’t know about him now,’ but the first time we met, within ten minutes in the studio I was like, he is right up my alley.

'A lot of stick'

name and swain

Karen told Ryan Tubridy on RTE Radio One: “It’s week 10 – me and Des were over the moon to get to week ten, but it was the fact of just working with Des for the whole time, he’s like the dream partner to dance with and we get on so well.

“We knew we were in the dance off with Aoibhín, obviously there was no chance we were going to get through.

“We weren’t thinking that, so it was just the fact that Des said before we went on, I was trying to hold myself together before the dance off and he just said: ‘Right Karen let’s just go out and enjoy it.’

“And as soon as he said that, I was like, ‘Des, stop.’ I was bawling. I was like, ‘How are we going to dance?’”

Des added: “I’d be more emotional. There was a brilliant atmosphere and the audience were brilliant. It killed the atmosphere stone dead when Nicky and Amanda said, ‘Join us after the break for the dramatic dance off.’

Des showed the move to his wife first. He said: “It was absolutely the right decision, I think people bought into the Dessie Swim happened and the next morning it appeared in every paper.

“Karen went, ‘This is Austin Powers, Austin Powers is this geeky guy chasing the women. So then I had to fall on the floor to enable her to do the swim.”

Karen said: “We were there to bring a bit of entertainment, a bit more lightness to the competition.

Des added: “At the end I got the same marks the first week as the last week, and nobody else did. Now I did improve but I absolutely wasn’t as a good as the others that were there. It was the right time for me to go, all of that. But I didn’t get any better marks at all, ah now I did improve!

“One thing I didn’t like, Teresa Mannion was given a three, that was mean spirited. You could have left her last, it wasn’t going to change the voting. You can still leave someone last with a bit of dignity.